Power Finance and Rural Electrification, under the Indian government's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, will provide financial assistance for the installation of 1,000MW solar power in India by the year 2013.
Organic photovoltaics (OPV) developer Solarmer Energy has once again reported record cell efficiencies, certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at 8.13%. In December 2009, Solarmer reported a plastic OPV champion cell of 7.9%. The company noted that going beyond 8% cell efficiencies had been a psychological barrier for the OPV industry. The new record was achieved with new polymers developed that generated higher conversion rates.
SunPower has now completed the 1MW solar PV installation at the Yolo County Justice Campus in Woodland, CA. Yolo County, which owns the system and associated renewable energy credits, is financing the system using multiple funding sources, including clean renewable energy bonds (financed by Bank of America), qualified energy conservation bonds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and a 15-year loan from the California Energy Commission.
Solarfun has entered into two photovoltaic module supply contracts, which together total 12MW. The first is with GranSolarGhella for 6MW in southern Italy; this order will be delivered in the second half of 2010. The second 6MW contract is with T.R.Z. Tozzi Renewable Energy, which will be delivered to central Italy in the third quarter of 2010.
The Omni Hotel in San Francisco was home to the first ever Solar Engineering & Manufacturing Association (SEMA) meeting, held on the last day of Intersolar North America. A selection of solar professionals from around the world gathered to establish the mission statement, goals and basic structure of the association.
Caltech will be leading the way for the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) with some help from U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman’s US$122 million award for the Energy Innovation Hub. The project will focus on replicating nature’s photosynthesis energy process as a new approach to energy production for commercialized use. The award will be distributed over a five year term to a multidisciplinary team of scientists chosen for the project.
Sunfilm has set a world record of 9.6% total-area efficiency for a module of 2.6m x 2.2m. Sunfilm's Model F achieved a maximum stabilized output power of 546Wp, achieved during a recent process optimization run on the company's production line. The thin-film deposition rate was the same as the one used for Sunfilm's normal high-volume production.
Joining the likes of JA Solar, on its quest to improve solar cell efficiency, Yingli Green has signed a technology, research and production collaboration agreement with Innovalight - the privately-held firm selling a platform of silicon ink-based high efficiency solar cell materials and technology.
Thin-film solar panel manufacturer, Stion, who recently announced a US$70 million Series D financing round and has begun expanding its San Jose, CA, manufacturing facility to 100MW, has appointed Duston Williams as audit committee chair on its board of directors.
S.A.G. Solarstrom is to construct a 48MWp ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant in region of Veneto, in the municipality of Canaro, northern Italy. This is the largest project to be planned by S.A.G Solarstrom to date.
